


Tangled up

by EarthsickWithoutYou



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 17:57:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13323450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EarthsickWithoutYou/pseuds/EarthsickWithoutYou
Summary: When Harry turns up out of the blue at Caitlin's door one night, their feelings for each other are exposed in a surprising way.





	Tangled up

Caitlin peeked through the front curtains of her apartment. The street was empty, neighbors’ curtains and blinds also snugly shut. She switched the lamp off and then turned it back on again. Biting her lip, she stood and listened to the utter quiet for a moment. Alright, this was stupid. Of course no one could see her, no one could hear her, and there was nothing embarrassing about what she was about to do!

She was just so achingly lonely. Maybe she had been single just a little too long and heartbroken more often than anyone should be. Caitlin’s solitude in the romantic sense ate away at her until she needed some kind of release. She still had needs, she still had…urges. 

_And thoughts_ , Caitlin added, opening the front of her silk robe and revealing the scant lingerie beneath it. Maybe it was weird to dress up for herself, but something about doing that made the whole act feel more intimate, more tender and sensual, even if it was an imagined intimacy. _This time,_ she promised herself insistently, _I am not going to think about Harrison Wells. ___

____

But she knew the vow was pointless even as it asserted itself with such prideful boldness in her head. Every single time she indulged in a bit of solitary exploration, she ended up thinking about Harry. His lips, his eyes, his laugh. That soft, husky, exquisitely intellectual, yet teasing voice, tickling her spine and making her blush. The way his gaze lingered on her a few moments too long before he yanked it away and made some cold or dismissive comment that made her think she’d imagined it. She thought about his body, long, lean and toned, and what she’d like to do to him, over and over until her back arched and she felt her own inner body clutch her fingers, pleasure radiating from her core. 

__

And…then she felt strange about the whole thing — what would he think, after all, if he knew he was the source of Caitlin’s feverishly uncontrollable fantasies? Just because there was a certain chemistry that she felt whenever they interacted, it didn’t mean Harry felt it too. In fact, given that he had never made the slightest move on her, the evidence pointed pretty clearly at the idea that he had no interest in her in that way. So, she simply wouldn’t think about Harry anymore at such moments.

__

_Yeah, right._

__

Resting her head back on her pillow, Caitlin bent one leg and left the other straight, letting her fingers ghost along her smooth, soft skin all the way from her calves to her panties. She slipped the other hand inside her bra and gently cupped a breast, then encircled a nipple with one finger, teasing herself until she started to feel genuinely aroused. Still, she needed to sink into a fantasy to make this happen; she always did. 

__

Dammit, there he was again, waiting in her mind as if he had missed her. _Caitlin,_ she imagined him whispering in her ear, pulling her body up against his from behind, _I want you._ A cheesy line, maybe, but that was all it took to send her heart racing, the mere concept that her longing was reciprocated, the sound of her name on his lips, on his tongue, so demanding, confident, strong, but expressive of a raw yearning that made her fingers itch to touch every inch of him. She thought about his voice again, and then she heard it.

__

“Caitlin?” Someone was knocking on her door. _Shit!_ Caitlin thought, the moment obliterated. Her heart shot to her throat, a self-conscious throb assaulting her temples. That was Harry’s voice.

__

“Snow? You home?” He knocked a few more times. What should she do? It was ten thirty at night, so what in the world was he doing there? Caitlin decided that it might be an emergency, so she belted her robe tightly, put her slippers on and padded to the door, composing her face into a casual expression that may or may not have been entirely convincing.

__

“Harry?” She said, perplexed to see him standing there, all in black as usual, his hair attractively mussed and his glasses perched on his nose. He was acting like this was totally normal, showing up at her place in the middle of the night. Then she noticed his bright blue eyes taking in the sight of her attire. His brow furrowed slightly and a look of momentary confusion crossed his face. Weighing her options, Caitlin decided to ask, “Iiiiis everything okay?” 

__

“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about how late it was getting. It’s just that I’ve been going over these calculations at the lab, and there’s a biological angle to this whole experimental concept that I can’t wrap my head around.”

__

“Really?” Caitlin asked, intrigued, her hip resting against the doorframe. “ _You_ can’t figure it out?”

__

“Crazy, right? How often does _that_ happen? Like never, right? But since it did happen, I was going to ask if you’d take a look at it and offer some insight, but uh—” Harry realized he was babbling and stopped short, scratching the back of his neck nervously and pointing to Caitlin’s attire. “You look so, um, cozy and relaxed, you don’t need me barging in here with work stuff at this hour. I can show you tomorrow, I’m sorry.”

__

“Harry,” Caitlin smiled, rolling her eyes and putting her hand out for his tablet, “You’re here. Just show me. Come on in.” He followed her in and sat down on the couch as she began to peruse his calculations. “Interesting,” she murmured.

__

**************************************************************************************

__

“Interesting,” Harry repeated absently, his mouth going dry and his heart hammering. He gazed over at Caitlin’s pursed, berry-tinted lips, her thoughtful expression and the lovely, soft tumbles of blonde-streaked brunette curls that drifted over her shoulders. She was never more beautiful than when she was intently analyzing something, but that wasn’t the only reason why Harry was having to remind himself to breathe. He took advantage of the fact that she wasn’t looking to press his sweaty palms down on the knees of his jeans. 

__

What was that she was wearing?

__

He couldn’t help it that his eyes followed the cream-colored lace of her silk kimono robe, noticing the way the shiny, soft fabric hugged the curves of her body, or the way her smooth, sculpted legs looked, crossed at the ankles as she sat up straight, appraising his work. Did she really dress like that when she was just hanging out at night? Caitlin looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but more than that, something about her whole aura exuded sensuality. It made him a little weak in the knees, and he fumbled to think of anything to say to fill the awkward silence.

__

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to ask if you want something to drink?” Caitlin began, “A cup of coffee, maybe…” Her gaze flickered to the glass of red wine she’d left out on the coffee table before adjourning to her bedroom earlier. “Oh,” she added, cheeks turning pink, “Maybe a glass of wine?”

__

Her eyes met his and there was an instant electric charge between them. Harry leaned forward slightly, looking almost hypnotized, his tense posture and Caitlin’s half-opened lips silently speaking volumes. She laid the tablet down on the table and tried to speak, but all that came out was a shaky, “Uhhh…”

__

“The wine sounds great,” Harry managed, trying to be cool and casual, stop acting like such an awkward idiot, but then something about that choice of drink sounded unquestionably intimate, given the feeling in the air they both couldn’t deny. And it just made everything doubly surreal, butterflies swarming in his stomach. 

__

“Awesome,” Caitlin chirped, her voice probably coming out a bit too high-pitched as she walked into the kitchen. She returned with a glass and extended it out to him, but he put the drink down on the table and held her wrist very lightly, looking up at her, his eyes supplicating. His long, elegant fingers rested on her gently but firmly, and he felt the pulse under her skin racing hard and fast.

__

“Why are you wearing that?” He whispered intensely, and Caitlin froze, looking as if she didn’t have a clue how to answer. “Don’t,” he added tenderly, “Don’t answer unless you want to, please.” He stood and looked down at her, beseeching Caitlin not to hate him for the bold and possibly unwelcome question.

__

“I…I just…” Caitlin bit her lip again and released it. Harry saw that it was pouty now, slightly swollen from her nervous manifestations. He had never been this turned on in his life, or so entirely taken over by his emotions. The closed-off, taciturn scientist he usually embodied was nowhere to be found.

__

“It’s okay,” Harry murmured. He stood next to her, letting his head fall closer to her own. “You can tell me.”

__

Caitlin gazed at him, doe-eyed, under the thrall of his intoxicating presence and his unexpected words. She trusted Harry, she knew he was a good man, the best, in fact, her favorite…she could tell him. She wanted to tell him.

__

“I felt a little lonely,” she said, her voice sounding tiny, jittery, starting to break, “I wanted to feel something again, even if it was just me. You know? I guess I just put this on to get into…” She chewed her lip, but he couldn’t stand to watch her do it anymore, so he slipped his thumb between her teeth and her bottom lip. Caitlin’s breath caught as he drew his hand back slowly, their bodies moving closer together out of pure, magnetic instinct.

__

“Into the mood?” Harry questioned, allowing himself to caress her cheek, so desperate to know her thoughts that he felt he might explode. He was also so hard at this point that it was soon going to be impossible to hide. 

__

“Yes,” Caitlin admitted, drifting nearer still, her face angled between his neck and his face, timid, curious, unbelievably vulnerable in this exposure. 

__

“It’s very important to me,” he repeated, “that you don’t answer unless you really want to." His voice was tight as she let her eyes meet his again. Fire surged between them and she nodded, swallowing. “What exactly were you going to do?” he asked, “Show me.”

__

Caitlin unbelted her robe and he sucked in a breath at the sight of her matching bra and panties, cream colored with a sheer black overlay, her cleavage rising and falling so close to him, her goddess-like beauty completely slaying him. It wasn’t just the way she looked, it was everything about Caitlin that made him love her so completely, so hopelessly. Her sweetness, her unending kindness, her brilliance, it was purely dizzying to him.

__

“I, um, I laid down on my bed,” she explained slowly, softly, “And then I just…” She repeated for him the motions she’d lavished upon her leg, her thigh, drifting very lightly over her panties, her fingers slipping back inside her bra until Harry’s hand landed over her own.

__

He knelt down in front of her and stroked her legs just as she had, following the lines of her body up to her waist, letting his other hand join hers inside the bra. She took her own hand out then as he kneaded her flesh so carefully, with such infinite care and tentativeness. “Harry,” Caitlin said thickly, cupping his neck in her hand and drawing his face closer. He claimed her lips in a kiss that made no pretense of chasteness. His mouth was hot and hungry against hers, then his tongue dipped inside, tasting her more deeply. He put his hand under her robe to touch the bare small of her back and she shivered against him until there was no space left between them. Then the excitement he felt became extremely apparent and she let out a low moan.

__

“What were you thinking about? Before, when you were alone,” Harry asked, kissing her right beneath her ear, then trailing his mouth down her neck.

__

“You,” Caitlin answered, “I always think about you. I try not to, but it never works.”

__

The last word had barely left her lips before Harry chimed in softly, “I think about you, too. Every time. All the time lately, and so much that I felt kind of embarrassed about it.”

__

Caitlin let out a shaky laugh. “Me, too.”

__

“Well, I guess the embarrassment wasn’t really necessary,” he surmised just before their lips met again, moist and ripe.

__

Caitlin stared at him very seriously for a moment, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe they’d shared these feelings and this need all that time, completely blind to the fact that they were both suffering. Imagining the other one didn’t return the emotion. Feeling so alone. “No,” she said, quietly but emphatically, their lips still grazing, “It wasn’t.”

__

“Probably not the loneliness, either,” Harry added as Caitlin unbuttoned his shirt, taking her time, kissing each new part of his chest and stomach that was exposed.

__

“Not anymore,” she replied, ecstasy squeezing her heart at the full realization that the words were true, this was actually happening. She pressed her lips to his, trembling and dangling precipitously between love and lust, amazed to discover how the two feelings intertwined enough to be fully joined and indivisible once he returned the pressure and she tasted the tear that had slid down his face.

__

“Never again,” Harry said gruffly, sharing her sense of overwhelmed bliss, the shock of so many possibilities suddenly unfolding. The conundrum, now that they were holding each other, of where to begin. “Caitlin,” he added as inspiration returned, the blind surprise of it all subsiding, “Show me what else you were going to do, and what you imagined me doing. Please.” She needed no further incentive, but took his hand and led him straight to her bed.

__

Without another word, Caitlin knelt on the bed and removed her bra, then reclined against her pillow, cupping her breasts and running her fingers over her nipples, eyes fluttering shut until her hips thrust upwards suggestively. She reached down and put a finger inside her underwear, and that was about all Harry could take before he joined her. Echoing her motions, he stroked and teased her breasts with his hands, then lowered his mouth, tracing circles around her nipples with his tongue, drawing them out by sucking lightly, Caitlin’s hand running up and down his back as she drew in a deep breath, her fingers reaching further down into her panties.

__

“Let me help you with that,” Harry suggested, kissing his way down to her lacy underwear and then sliding one of his own fingers beneath the waistband. “Were you going to do it like this?” He murmured, rubbing her up and down at her wet, hot entrance as she shuddered, clutching the pillow. “And like this?” He entered her with his finger and quickly discerned the right movements to drive her insane.

__

“Mmm,” Caitlin replied, the English language temporarily departing her memory banks. 

__

“What,” Harry asked, licking her as his finger continued to press inside her, “Would I do then?”

__

Caitlin knew she wasn’t going to last much longer with him fingering her like that, but the addition of his tongue defeated her last attempt to draw things out. She cried out in sudden euphoria as an orgasm hit her, then she held on tight to Harry’s arm as the feeling shot through her body, sharply delicious. 

__

“You’re loud,” Harry said into her ear, removing his finger and returning his attention to her mouth, kissing her hard and fast, clutching her body to him as if she was everything he could ever need, as if letting her go again was an impossibility. 

__

“Sorry,” Caitlin replied, in a daze, letting one of her legs rise to circle his hips, drawing his erection against her lower region as she ground upward, “I’m actually never that loud. I’ve never heard myself make that noise…” She sighed as the friction between them intensified, “before.”

__

“I like it,” Harry growled, biting her shoulder and then sucking at her breasts again. Caitlin reached down to undo his jeans and he gasped as she removed his last remaining items of clothing, her movements deft and aggressive. “I want to know if I can make you get louder than that,” he added.

__

She kissed him over and over as they wound together, feeling herself swept into the undertow of his stormy ocean, the only place she wanted to be. 

__

“Protection?” He asked haltingly, before going any further.

__

“I’m on the pill,” she replied, but she couldn’t let that be it, the last thing she said to him before everything went way too far in the best way possible. He kissed and licked her stomach, right where he could feel her breath sucking in at the sensations he provoked, and Caitlin’s feet squirmed happily, pressing hard into the sheets. “Come here,” she murmured, pulling him up so that they could be face to face again.

__

“I love you,” she confessed, engulfed by the look in his eyes, the startled adoration. “I can’t believe this…” Caitlin sighed against his lips as they devoured hers once more, then twice. 

__

“Me either,” he admitted, clasping her face gently as he added, “I love you, too, Caitlin Snow. I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you and I’ve been pathetically trying to pretend otherwise ever since.”

__

The kisses had long since become an addiction, one they resumed with greater fervor than ever, his hand gripping her thigh as her legs tightened around his body, as he thrust into her and Caitlin made another new sound. Harry began tentatively, letting her get used to his full length before plunging in more deeply, but soon neither of them could maintain patience, especially him because of the way she kept moaning. Their bodies collided repeatedly as he thrust, finally so hard and fast that they were breathless, captives to the inevitable, together in the storm. She cried out once more as she came, her fingers tangled in his hair when his head collapsed into the space between her neck and shoulder, his teeth closing around her skin as his body shook with the strength of his own orgasm.

__

Caitlin pulled the sheets and blankets out from under them, covering their bodies as they continued to cling together, his breath ragged against her neck. She stroked his hair and hugged him to her, eternally grateful to him for turning up out of the blue like he had, for having the nerve to trespass on the comfort of their friendship and ask her questions too daring and forbidden. 

__

“If you hadn’t stopped by tonight, would I ever have known how you felt?” She wondered intently.

__

“I kept trying to think of ways to tell you. Maybe me showing up here with some flimsy work excuse was just my subconscious doing me a favor, pushing me to let you know I loved you,” he suggested, drawing back just far enough to look up at her, his expression dreamy. 

__

She caressed his cheek and added, “I wonder where your glasses ended up.”

__

“I have no idea,” he replied, and they both collapsed into laughter in the absurd perfection of the moment.

__

“What about you?” Harry asked more seriously a few moments later, trailing his fingers through Caitlin’s damp, silky curls that were spilled out across the pillow. “You were never going to tell me?”

__

“I’ve been burned in love so many times, and this, you and me…it always felt so intense to me that I was afraid to act on it, get hurt again, lose you…I convinced myself somehow that one-sided love was still a gift. To get to feel this way about you and see you everyday, that was a privilege. That…even a tragedy can be beautiful.” Caitlin shook her head and smiled tearfully. He hurried to brush her tears from her skin and to kiss away her memories of pain.

__

“We’re not a tragedy, Snow,” Harry promised, making her grin through her tears at the affectionate, sexy nickname. “We’re a happily ever after, okay? I mean, you know me, I can be…messy at times, and difficult, but I’ll find a way to be better for you. I’ll make it my mission to see that you’re happy every single day.”

__

“Harry, I don’t want you to be better. I just want you to be _you._ ” She kissed his chest, then propped her chin up, giving him a reassuring smile. 

__

“I hate that you’ve been hurt so often,” he said in a low voice, “I won’t let myself be the one to cause you more pain, disappoint you, let you down.”

__

“God, you’re so neurotic. And it takes one to know one, so you can trust me on that. Calm down, Harry!” She sat up, grabbed his hands, and pulled him up to face her. “Listen to me. I. want. you. You’re the one I love, and that means I love everything about you, even the parts you hate, or you think will disappoint me. Do you seriously think that if grumpiness, egotism or cynicism were deal-breakers for me, I could be this crazy about you? Or that I don’t know who you are underneath those things?” 

__

“I don’t even know if _I_ know who I am underneath those things,” Harry answered with a wry half-smile.

__

“You’re kind, and you’re loving. You are a good man, no matter how hard you try to hide it under all those facades. We all know it, Harry, and no one knows it better than me.” 

__

“Caitlin Snow. You are amazing.” His voice was like velvet, doing what it always did, smoothing out the jagged edges and delicately insidious worries in her head, making her lips curve up in a smile reserved only for him. 

__

“Harrison Wells,” she answered, her brown eyes sparkling, “You would know.”

__

They both laughed again, collapsing back onto the bed, tangled up and elated, eagerly diving back into every temptation. Their insecurities were gone and they were joined in the clear, awe-inspiring truth of knowing they would never be parted again.

__


End file.
